Trey Anastasio performed a solo acoustic show at The Andrew J Brady Center in Cincinnati, OH on Sunday. The guitarist offered a solo reprise of the slow “Maze” that he recently unveiled with Phish at the band’s concert in Noblesville, IN.
Trey opened the show with “Bathtub Gin”, inviting the crowd to participate in a singalong, after which he told them, “That was your warmup song. Get your voice warmed up.” He then explained that he never knows exactly what he’ll play next before launching into “Water In The Sky”.
Trey went on to play “Sigma Oasis” and “The Inlaw Josie Wales” before stopping to acknowledge that it was Father’s Day. “I was telling Justin [Stabler] this morning,” he said, referring to his guitar tech, who was celebrating his first Father’s Day since becoming a dad nine months ago, “The way they just gaze at you at nine months old and love you unconditionally every single second, it just stays like that the whole time.” He added, “When she’s 14 … 15 … it’ll be the same thing.”
Trey then continued the set, playing “Joy” before taking “Turtle In The Clouds” into the proceeding “Free”. After readings of “If I Could” and “Snowflakes in the Sand”, he offered commentary on “Possum” before playing the song, explaining that is was written by “my old buddy and roommate from 18 years old, Jeff Holdsworth.” He wished Jeff a happy Father’s Day and then introduced “Strange Design” with the story of how he composed the song in the middle of the night when his wife Sue was nine months pregnant. “It was really about riding that razor’s edge, like ‘Oh my god, in a couple of days I’m going to become a parent,’” he said before starting the song.
Next, Trey delivered solo acoustic interpretations of “Prince Caspian”, “Twist”, and “Back On The Train” before breaking out “My Problem Right There” from the soundtrack to Hands On A Hardbody. He introduced the song with reflections on the Broadway play’s poor performance, describing how he cried with the cast and production team when it closed. “In the middle of that moment, I had this profound experience,” he explained. “I’m standing in a theater. My play is closing, it bombed and there was some philosophy lesson in that. I thought, ‘This is the greatest thing that ever happened, complete failure!’ Or something like that. It was sort of the best part of the whole thing.”
Another highlight of the night came when Trey said he wanted to change the pace and joked that while he’s still working on the fast “Lawn Boy” he teased in Louisville, he would play a slow “Maze”, which Phish debuted at Ruoff Music Center last month, causing quite a reaction among fans.
Trey finished up the set with a run of Phish songs including “Waste”, “Backwards Down The Number Line”, “Wilson”, and “Chalk Dust Torture”, which featured a “Harry Hood” interpolation sandwiched in the middle of the song. He then exited the stage but soon returned to deliver a five-song encore that included “Miss You”, “Driver”, “Sunset Days”, “Sleeping Monkey”, and “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.”.
View the setlist and watch fan-shot videos of Trey’s solo acoustic show at Cincinnati’s Andrew J Brady Center below.
Trey’s solo acoustic run wraps up this week with shows at The Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater in Grand Rapids, MI (6/20) and Kresge Auditorium in Interlochen, MI (6/21). He will also perform with Trey Anastasio Band at The Peach Music Festival on July 2nd. Visit his website to find more information and purchase tickets.
Setlist: Trey Anastasio | The Andrew J Brady Center | Cincinnati, OH | 6/19/22
Set: Bathtub Gin, Water in the Sky, Sigma Oasis, The Inlaw Josie Wales, Joy, Turtle in the Clouds, Free, If I Could, Snowflakes in the Sand, Possum, Strange Design, Prince Caspian, Twist, Back on the Train, My Problem Right There, Maze, Waste, Backwards Down the Number Line, Wilson, Chalk Dust Torture, Harry Hood, Chalk Dust Torture
Encore: Miss You, Driver, Sunset Days, Sleeping Monkey, Say It to Me S.A.N.T.O.S.